When Evil beyond your imagination comes for you, who would you trust to keep you safe
Have you ever had an “off” feeling about a place? A sudden notion that something isn’t quite right, even when everything seems perfectly normal. It might be a strange chill on an otherwise sunny day. Or maybe the place is just too quiet. Whatever it is, It sets off all your internal alarm bells, screaming at you that something is very wrong!
Maybe you aren’t alone.
As a storytelling device, Demon gives us a face to that feeling. For centuries they’ve appeared in works of literature. They are evil creatures that devour humans' bodies and souls. But where there is evil, there will always be someone there to defeat it. Those brave men and women are called Demon Slayers.
In modern times, stories of these hunters have reappeared in the form if Japanese Anime, here are 15 of the most famous examples.
15. Black Butler
Black Butler: Season 1 - Official Trailer
Set in Victorian England, Black Butler tells the story of the young earl Ciel Phantomhive and his Demon Butler Sabastian. Together they work under Queen Victoria herself as her Watchdog. Dealing with supernatural cases that threaten the country.
It's like kid Batman and Alfred, but with Demons.
There’s just something about the United Kingdom of the late nineteenth century that makes it perfect for supernatural tales. Just picturing the gloomy London fog in a time before cars and skyscrapers, when gas lamps dotted the streets, giving the city a mystical quality. This series takes full advantage of its setting. Showing how the high society of the time interacted with the occult. And introducing us to a vibrant cast that makes the show feel like Downton Abbey with demons.
14. The Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins | Official Trailer | Netflix
Taking place in the ancient land of Britannia, a world inspired by Arthurian legends. We follow a young princess as she goes on a quest to regroup an infamous team of knights known as the Seven Deadly Sins, who have been disbanded for the past decade. Led by a demonic captain whose smiling face hides dark secrets.
The Sin of Wrath.
This show is basically setting Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai film during the time of King Arthur’s court. In fact, Arthur does actually make an appearance, although he’s still pretty young and inexperienced in this portrayal. He is being mentored by the wizard Merlin, who in this world is a woman, and a member of Sins. This series is a real melting pot of different cultural influences. Besides Arthurian legends, we’ve got Christianity, Celtic mythology, and a bit of Norse mythology thrown in there for good measure.
13. Black Clover
Black Clover – SimulDub™ Trailer
In a world where everyone is born with some form of magical power, our hero Asta stands out as the only child born without a single drop of it. Yet that doesn’t deter him, instead, it emboldens him to set his dreams higher than anyone thought possible.His goal is to become the Wizard King, the strongest magician in the world.
Never judge a book by its cover, especially if that cover happens to have a 5-Leaf Clover.
While the presence of demons doesn’t show up until a bit later into the series, they are the plot's driving force from the very beginning. Long-running action shows like this can feel like a commitment. And this one notoriously got off to a rocky start. But I can assure you it is worth the ride, as the story only gets better and better as the different characters and their backstories intertwine. Causing you to grow a deep sense of attachment to Asta and his friends as they overcome the various obstacles set before them.
12. Blue Exorcist
Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga Vol. 1 - Official Trailer
Watching his foster father die causes our hero Rin Okumura to unleash his previously unknown demon heritage. After that, he becomes wrapped up in the demon-hunting business when he is accepted into True Cross Academy, which is secretly a school specializing in training demon hunters. And to top all that off, Rin learns that his timid younger twin brother is now his teacher. Could his life get any weirder?
What would you do if you woke up one day with flaming horns and a tail?
The dynamic of the two brothers is one of the most exciting aspects of this show. Rin is a punk with a heart of gold, the tough older brother who thinks he’s looking out for his shy younger twin Yukio. Unaware that his little brother is more mature than him and already a full-fledged teacher at the age of sixteen. This role reversal of their expected dynamic adds a lot of significant interactions to the series. As Rin has to relearn everything he thought he knew about his brother.
11. Fire Force
Fire Force | OFFICIAL PREVIEW
Set in our world after the Great Cataclysm event, which wiped out most habitable land on Earth. We join the protagonist Shinra Kusakabe as he joins the elite Fire Force Company 8. A task force dedicated to hunting down Infernals, demonic beings who began appearing after the Cataclysm took place.
This anime has one of the catchiest openings I've heard in ages.
What if Firefighters actually “fought” fires? That’s the central question in this series. It’s a world where people can spontaneously combust into flame and transform into demonic Infernals. So special teams of Fire Force operatives are dispatched to put them down. This series was created by Atushi Ohkubo. A manga artist who is most famous for his work on the highly regarded Soul Eater series.
10. High School DxD
High School DxD Trailer
They say if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Our boy Issei here learns that lesson the hard way when the girl of his dreams puts a gaping hole in his chest on his first date. Now he’s stuck as a demon forced to fight in a tournament against other monsters while caught between the schemes of Hell’s nobility… and he still has to go to school.
The Red Dragon Emperor and his Demon Mistress.
I won’t lie to you. This series is pretty perverted. It’s a mix of shonen action and a romantic harem anime. So if you’re cool with that, this is a pretty good show. Issei goes against all kinds of supernatural foes, like demons, heroes, and dragons.
9. Dororo
DORORO 2019 Official Trailer New HD
So have you heard those stories where parents take out huge loans in their children’s names before they turn 18? This anime is about a boy whose dad sold his limbs, organs, and face to numerous demons while he was still a baby. Castaway due to his grotesque state, he was taken in by a doctor. He fixed the boy up and gave him prosthetic limbs, which he now uses to hunt down the demons who stole his body parts so he can reclaim his humanity.
His whole body's a Demon-killing weapon.
Created by the Father of Manga himself, Osamu Tezuka, back in the late 1960s, this series got an excellent anime adaptation in 2019. It’s hard to imagine this series being done by the same guy who made Astro Boy. I’d put this in the same camp as manga like Vagabond, a dark and gritty samurai manga. But look at the original artwork for this series. You can clearly see that it was done in Tezuka’s iconic cartoony style. A style he developed as a child watching old Disney movies, he apparently watched Bambi more than 80 times.
8. Monogatari Series
Bakemonogatari Trailer
Starting from Bakemonogatari, this series follows high schooler turned vampire Koyomi Araragi. Presented in a monster of the week format, we follow Araragi as he deals with all the supernatural events plaguing his town. From demon apes to snake gods, to that girl who stabbed his mouth with a stapler, and all our boy wants to do is graduate.
The art direction in this anime is really fantastic.
This anime is a trip. Like High School DxD, it can get pretty raunchy, especially the infamous “toothbrush” scene. But suppose you have the stomach for it, and the ability to piece together all the narratives going on. In that case, it has a profound message about self-discovery and what it means to grow up. The author, Nisio Isin, loves the Japanese language. And because of that, he uses a lot of complex wordplay throughout the series; not all of it translates super well into English still a great series regardless.
7. Jujutsu Kaisen
JUJUTSU KAISEN | OFFICIAL TRAILER
To save his friends, our hero Yuji Itadori swallows the finger of a powerful demon named Ryomen Sukuna, thereby becoming its host. However, instead of killing him, the Jujutsu sorcerer sent to handle the situation offers him a stay of execution. Now training to become a sorcerer himself, Yuji must consume the demon’s other fingers so it can be killed all at once, all while trying to figure out how he doesn’t end up dead.
The white-haried guy is Kakashi Hatake 2.0.
While the characters might look a bit bland compared to other modern shonen. This series is full of amazing fast-paced fights that will get you hyped. Taking a lot of inspiration from the popular shonen anime that have come before it, this show irons out the spots where its predecessors fell short. Creating great buildup to each major fight. Especially the ones where Yuji’s mentor shows up.
6. InuYasha
Official English Trailer Extended | Inuyasha, Set 1 | VIZ
Our heroine Kagome accidentally falls down a well one day and finds herself in a world that closely resembles feudal Japan. There she meets the half-demon Inuyasha. Together they journey across the land, hunting other demons in search of the pieces of a mysterious relic known as the Shikon Jewel. They are later joined by a professional demon slayer and perverted monk who accompany them on their travels.
The Half-Demon and the Priestess.
This is like Japanese Alice in Wonderland. Made by Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma ½, when she decided that her next project would have a darker direction than the comedies she was used to making. The story has something for everyone. Epic fights against the various demons that Kagome and her companions come across. As well as the heartwarming romance that slowly grows between her and the hard-headed Inuyasha.
5. Hellsing Ultimate
Hellsing Ultimate Collection 1 (I-IV) Official Trailer - Available Now
When queen and country are under attack by occult forces, who do they turn to? Why the Hellsing organization, of course! They’re an elite force of monster hunters, that just so happen to have a vampire pet locked in their basement.
The Hound of the Hellsing Organization.
Now, if I’m going to recommend you watch Hellsing, I can’t in good conscience not talk about its famous abridged series spin-off. I’d argue it’s better than the original show itself. Done by Team Four Star, the same people who did Dragon Ball Abridged, it’s a dark comedy that spans 10 episodes. Released initially every year around Halloween during the 2010s, it is now a complete series that you can binge-watch on Youtube. Watching both Hellsing Ultimate and its Abridged series back to back is a fantastic experience to do with a group of friends, and I highly recommend it.
4. Yu Yu Hakusho
YuYu Hakusho Season 1 Trailer
They say no good deed goes unpunished. Yusuke learns the hard way after saving a little boy from being hit by a car. It’s not all bad. He ends up as a spirit detective. Now he fights demons and solves cases on behalf of the spirit world government.
Everything about this picture screams 1990s.
This series was created by Yoshihiro Togashi, one of the leading innovators in shonen manga and the guy who married the author of Sailor Moon. What’s remarkable about his work is that he never sacrifices the story for the action scenes. Instead, he always gives his characters believable reasons to fight each other. Because of that, you are always genuinely invested in how each fight will turn out. In addition, he puts careful thought into each character he creates and is seemingly constantly developing them even when you’re not paying attention. This gives all his characters their own chance to shine.
3. Bleach
Official JUMP FESTA Trailer | Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War | VIZ
Ichigo Kurosaki isn’t your typical 15-year-old high schooler. He has the unique ability to see the souls of the dead. But after meeting a strange girl named Rukia, he learns that there is more lurking out there than the harmless spirits he’s come to know. Demonic creatures known as Hollows roam the streets of his small town, and through Rukia he is given the power to step up and become its protector.
I'm so glad it's coming back!
Bleach just oozes style. Its author Tite Kubo goes out of his way to make every fight scene a spectacle. Of course, he can go a bit overboard sometimes as he tends to prioritize style over substance, but the battles are so epic and cool that you hardly notice. The anime ran from 2004 to 2012, and it was considered one of the Big 3 anime of the 2000s alongside Naruto and One Piece. But due to popular demand, it's making its return in October of 2022 to adapt the manga's final arc.
2. Claymore
Trailer HD | Claymore (English)
In a world plagued by the demonic Yoma, specially trained warriors known as Claymores are dispatched to put these monsters down. These silver-eyed witches wield colossal blades and fight with skills unmatched by regular humans. Our story focuses on Clare, Claymore Number 47, and the human boy she saves as they adventure throughout the world, killing Yoma wherever they might appear.
A Claymore x Witcher crossover would be pretty cool.
The concept of a white-haired wandering swordsman has become pretty popular in modern storytelling. The most famous example is undoubtedly the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia. This series shares many similarities with that Polish book series. Especially its flair for over-the-top violence. They also share a theme of moral ambiguity, as none of their characters are ever truly good or evil.
1. Demon Slayer
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Trailer 1
After an extended trip for his job selling charcoal, Tanjiro Kamado comes home to find his family slaughtered by a demon. All except for his little sister, who has unfortunately been transformed into a demon herself by the experience. Unwilling to let his sister be put down by demon hunters, Tanjiro joins their ranks and sets out on a journey to find a cure that can make her human again.
He has a very overprotective little sister.
This series exploded onto the anime scene back in 2019, and for a good reason. Being animated by Studio Ufotable, famous for their work with the Fate franchise, the quality of this anime is top-notch. And the movie that was released in 2020 was the highest-grossing film of that year. This is incredible because that was in the middle of a global pandemic. People were literally risking their lives to see this film, which allowed it to pull in a box office of over $500 million.
